Post by Jim Pate on Jan 10, 2014 6:15:13 GMT -5
Sanctifying (38) (hagiasmos [word study] from hagiazo [word study] = sanctify from hagios [word study] = holy, set apart, consecrated) is a word used "only by Biblical and ecclesiastical writings" (Thayer) and which literally means sanctification which includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication ("personal dedication to the interests of the deity" BDAG) and holiness.
Hagiasmos was used in the Greek pagan religions to describe buildings, altars or offerings set apart for religious purposes. The object set apart was thus declared sacred, holy, devoted to religious purposes. It applied also to the worshippers. They were set apart persons, thus religious devotees of the temple.
The dominant idea of sanctification (dictionary discussion) is separation from the secular and sinful and set apart for the sacred, (specifically in the NT) for God’s special use (cp 2Ti 2:21, 22-note), all made possible by the atoning work of Christ and the provision of His Spirit.
In position all believers are in Christ, and practically speaking sanctification describes the Spirit enabled process by which the one in Whom we live and Who lives in us (i.e., Christ, the Spirit of Christ - cp Jn 14:20, Col 1:27-note, Ro 8:9-note) progressively becomes more and more manifest in our daily conduct (cp 2Co 4:10, 11, 2:14, 15,16, Ro 8:29-note)
Bradford Mullen writes that...
The generic meaning of sanctification is "the state of proper functioning." To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is "sanctified" when used to write. Eyeglasses are "sanctified" when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God's design and purpose...
Human beings ultimately cannot sanctify themselves. The Triune God sanctifies. The Father sanctifies (1Co 1:30) by the Spirit (2Th 2:13; 1Pe 1:2) and in the name of Christ (1Co 6:11). Yet Christian faith is not merely passive. Paul calls for active trust and obedience when he says, "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2Co 7:1-note). No one may presume on God's grace in sanctification. Peter reminds believers to be diligent in making their calling and election sure (2Pe 1:10-note). (See Mullen's well done lengthy "treatise" on Sanctification in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Recommended!) (Bolding Added)
BDAG says hagiasmos is used...
in a moral sense for a process or, more often, its result (the state of being made holy)
Wuest puts it this way
The word “sanctify” in the Greek means “to set apart,” and the word “sanctification” refers to the setting apart process. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
As explained more below, hagiasmos can refer either to a state of being set apart from sin and the world unto God (equating with our initial salvation) or secondly can refer to the process by which a saint becomes progressively more set apart to God. Thus sanctification in one use takes place at a moment in time (salvation and synonymous with justification - See relationship of Justified, Sanctified, Glorified) but in the other use sanctification is a continuous process which is lifelong and terminates only when believers are glorified. Peter uses hagiasmos primarily with the former meaning. The Holy Spirit is the agent in effecting both aspects of sanctification.
Hagiasmos is used twice in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ezekiel 45:4, Amos 2:11) and 10 times in the NT...
Romans 6:19 (note) I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
Romans 6:22 (note) But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1Thessalonians 4:3 (note) For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1Thessalonians 4:4 (note) that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor
1Thessalonians 4:7 (note) For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
2Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
1Timothy 2:15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
Hebrews 12:14 (note) Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
1Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Wuest adds that
This pre-salvation work of the Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as the sanctification of the Spirit. It is the setting-apart work of the Spirit in that He sets the unsaved person apart from his unbelief to the act of faith, from his standing in the first Adam which brought him sin and death, to a new standing in the Last Adam which brings him righteousness and life. This we call positional sanctification." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
The College Press NIV Commentary states that...
The concept of sanctification can be understood by comparing the sanctification of people to the sanctification of the temple or its utensils. A sanctified building, lampstand, or pot is designated to be used only in service to God. A sanctified person has also been set apart for service. The Holy Spirit both marks us for God’s service and empowers us to render that service. (1 & 2 Peter: The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing).
As discussed, Peter uses hagiasmos to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration or the new birth, by which a sinner is taken out of Adam and placed into Christ (cp 1Co 15:22), thus equating sanctification in this context with salvation (or justification).
Writing to the Thessalonian believers (whose faith had been shaken by false teachers cf 2Th 2:1, 2, 3, 4) Paul reminds them of the source and security of their salvation, explaining that they are
brethren beloved (perfect tense = their permanent state) by the Lord, because God has chosen you (election -- middle voice = for Himself) from the beginning for salvation through sanctification (hagiasmos) by the Spirit (God's part) and faith (man's part, realizing that even faith is a gift) in the truth (believers need to stay "in the truth" for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ). (2Th 2:13)
The Spirit (Jn 3:5, 6, 7, 8) uses the Word of Truth (the Gospel - see Ep 1:13-note, Col 1:5-note) to convict men of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come (Jn 16:8), to point them to safety in the "Ark" of Christ and to set them apart from the world.
Using the verbal root of hagiasmos (hagiazo [word study]), Paul declared to the Ephesian elders
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance ("imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven" - 1Pe 1:4-note) among all those who are sanctified (hagiazo - perfect tense pictures their having been set apart occurring at a definite point of time in the past -- the moment they were born again by faith -- with the present result that they are still set apart, that blessed condition continuing throughout this life and the one to come!). (Acts 20:32)
John Macarthur comments on 1 Peter1:2 explaining that
Election becomes a reality for the elect in the sphere of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit...While the elect are elect from eternity, they are saved in time..."Sanctifying" refers to the new birth--salvation, regeneration, faith, repentance-- that the Spirit produces in the life of a believer. It includes the concepts of being hallowed, consecrated, and separated from the world. As Christians we are all elect from eternity. But we were once part of the mass of unredeemed humanity. We existed in that unredeemed condition until the Holy Spirit set us apart ("sanctified us") for salvation...the Spirit sets a believer apart ("sanctifies") from sin to God, from darkness to light, and from unbelief to faith...The Father planned our salvation and Christ purchased it for us, but it is the Spirit Who applies it. (parentheses and bolding added)
The reader needs to be aware that sanctification can be a confusing term because some uses of "sanctification" (sanctify, sanctified) in Scripture refer primarily to our initial salvation ("positional sanctification") whereas other uses refer to an ongoing process in the believer's life.
John Macarthur notes that
Sanctification includes all aspects of the life of a believer. It is a synonym for salvation, the critical work of the Holy Spirit at conversion whereby we are set apart--born of the Spirit. Once that has taken place, the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to make us more holy. That is the process of sanctification, and it continues throughout our lives.
SANCTIFICATION:
USED TWO WAYS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
(1) Our initial salvation experience:
A POINT IN TIME EVENT
OUR POSSESSION
OUR ETERNAL POSITION IN CHRIST
(2) Our daily growth in Christ-likeness:
A PROCESS
OUR DAILY PRACTICE
PROGRESSIVE
When we are initially saved, the Bible sometimes refers to this as sanctified and so we Paul writes that...
we were sanctified (hagiazo - aorist tense = past action completed the moment we believed!) (1Co 6:11-see note. cp Acts 20:32 where here the speaks of our being set apart at a specific point in time in the past [the moment we believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ Mk 1:1, Ro 1:9-note, Ro 15:19-note, 1Co 9:12, 2Co 2:12, 9:13, 10:14, Gal 1:7, Php 1:27-note, 1Th 3:2-note, 2Th 1:8] and with the results continuing into the present = we remain positionally set apart.)
At the moment we confessed "with (our) mouth Jesus as Lord, and (believed) in (our) heart that God raised Him from the dead" (Ro 10:9-note) we were saved, sanctified or set apart from Sin, Satan and this present evil age (world) (Gal 1:4) and unto God for His good pleasure (2Cor 5:9, Ep 5:8-note, Ep 5:9, 10-note, 1Th 2:4-note, He 13:20, 21-note) and use (2Co 4:7, 2Ti 2:20, 21-note).
The epistle to the Hebrews records that
By this will we have been sanctified (hagiazo) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (He 10:10-note)
In Hebrews 10:10, sanctified is in the perfect tense which indicates a past completed action (the moment of salvation, a one time event when we taken out of Adam and were placed in Christ 1Co 15:22, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light - Col 1:13, 14-note) with present ongoing effects or results (i.e., holiness as a saint's permanent possession -- once made holy in Christ you will always be "holy" whether you feel holy or not.)
The writer of Hebrews then goes on to explain that...
by one offering (of His Own Body on the Cross) He (Christ, our Great High Priest) has perfected (perfect tense = speaks of the permanence or eternality of this perfection) for all time those who are sanctified (present tense, passive voice {"divine passive" = God enables this progressive setting apart in believers} = more literally = "are continuously being sanctified" = speaks of the process of sanctification as discussed below). (He 10:14-note)
W E Vine says that...
Sanctification is the state predetermined by God for believers, into which in grace He calls them, and in which they begin their Christian course and so pursue it. Hence they are called “saints” (hagioi)
Having been saved, sanctified or set apart in the past, now daily we are being saved, sanctified or set apart from the world and unto God. (See topic Three Tenses of Salvation - see also the lengthy discussion by Lehman Strauss re Regeneration, Justification and Sanctification) The first sanctification is a one time event, never to be repeated. The second sanctification is a daily event and represents an ongoing process by which the Spirit is continually conforming us into the image of God's Son by producing internal transformation.
Paul says it this way...
we all, with unveiled face (perfect tense = The veil was taken off the day the Spirit gave birthed us into the Kingdom of God and we received new life in Christ and the effects continue. The perfect tense speaks of permanence of the "unveiling" which occurred when we first received Christ - Jn 1:12, 13. The Spirit opened the eyes of our heart - Acts 26:18, 16:14, 2Co 3:5, 6, 16. In Jesus the veil is "rent" - Heb 10:19, 20-note Mt 27:50,51 Mk15:38 Lk 23:45! Believers now under the New Covenant do not lose the glory as did Moses under the Old Covenant - 2Co 3:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) beholding (present tense = continually contemplating without interruption. As one's lifestyle.) as in a mirror (the Word of Truth - same phrase in Ps 119:43-note, 2Co 6:7, Col 1:5-note, 2Ti 2:15-note, Jas 1:18-note) the glory of the Lord, are being transformed (present tense = this is a process, not an arrival in this present life! The = passive voice = so called "divine passive" = God is the Energizer of our transformation. However note it is not "Let go and Let God" for believers have a responsibility of "beholding") into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2Cor 3:18).
Jesus prayed for the sanctification of saints, asking His Father to
Sanctify (aorist imperative) them in the Truth. Thy Word is Truth. (Jn 17:17, 19)
Dearly beloved, if you are not in the Word daily (cf Mt 4:4), and the Word is not in you and/or you are not obeying the Word (not legalistically but enabled by the Spirit - Ezek 36:27, cp obedience of faith), you will not experience significant progressive sanctification (This brings to mind Rich Mullins great song Step by Step). Peter charges believers (after exhorting them to lay aside "appetite suppressing", growth stunting sins in 1Pe 2:1-note) to be
like newborn babes (and) long for (aorist imperative = a command demanding urgent attention. Do this now! Don't delay! Do it effectively! Develop an appetite for, have an insatiable craving for) the pure milk of the word (unadulterated, no additives, not devotionals or books about the Word but the "pure Word"), that by it (they) may grow in respect to salvation (i.e., the process of sanctification or present tense salvation.") (1Pe 2:2-note; cp Jer 15:16, Job 23:12-note)
THE BELIEVER'S
"POWER SOURCE"
ENABLING
PROGRESSIVE
SANCTIFICATION
The process of sanctification is dependent not only on the intake of the Word, but on our response to the Word. Is the Word "in one ear and out the other" (Jas 1:22-note) or does it truly impact your walk, beloved (or do we walk away from it and forget it? - Jas 1:23, 24-note)?
Paul explains that our daily growth in Christ-likeness is a "cooperative effort" writing that
if you are living (present tense = that is if the direction of your life is continually) according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit (this is God's part - His power in us to will and to work for His good pleasure) you are putting (this part is our responsibility, it is present tense - habitually, daily - the process of sanctification; cp same "pattern" of God's part, our part in Ezek 36:27) to death the deeds of the body (prompted by sin still resident in the physical body), you will live. (Ro 8:13-note).
He reiterates this vitally important spiritual dynamic in Philippians exhorting the saints to...
work out (present imperative = As the general direction of your life) your salvation (equates with progressive, stepwise sanctification = increasing in holiness = growth in Christ-likeness) with fear (1Pe 1:17-note, 2Co 7:1-note) and trembling for it is God who is at work (energeo in the present tense = continually) in you, both to will (His indwelling Spirit gives us the "want to" [cp He 13:20, 21-note] - our fallen flesh does not "want to" obey God's word! Never!) and to work (energeo in the present tense = continually) for His good pleasure. (Php 2:12, 13-See notes Php 2:12; 2:13)
In other words, the indwelling Holy Spirit is the believer's Source of supernatural power (just try obeying continually in your own natural strength!) continually enabling us to not "walk according to the flesh" (Ro 8:4-note) but to "walk (present imperative) by the Spirit (for then) you will (be empowered to) not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Gal 5:16-note; NB: The Spirit first! In other words, don't "invert" Gal 5:16 and try to keep a set of rules concocted to blunt the desires of your old flesh nature! It won't work. It's called legalism [beware - legalism can assume very subtle forms!] and the old flesh loves it! [see Ro 7:5-note]. Surrender your will to the Spirit's will [cp our Lord's perfect example - Lk 22:42, 1Pe 2:21-note]. Each morning awaken with an "Ephesians 5:16 [note] mindset" and begin your day with the spiritual "breakfast of champions" and a holy presentation [Ro 12:1-note, Ro 12:2-note]. Then throughout the day, moment by moment, trial by trial, yield to Him. As the "tests" come at you, learn to depend on His power, not your own power to "weather the storm", whatever the "storm" is in your life! There is no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to Trust and Obey in the Spirit!)
Note that the process of sanctification although enabled by the Spirit is the believer's responsibility and that holiness is not produced by personal passivity or just letting go and letting God as some have erroneously taught. We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to make us holy...His sanctifying work alone saved us the first time and His sanctifying work alone saves us every day and both are activated by faith, a faith that obeys His still small voice without hesitation. That's "walking in the Spirit". Walking is just learning to place one foot in front of the other and then repeating that process. That's what it means to be continually "filled with the Spirit". That's what it means to continually be under the control of the Holy Spirit. (see related resources Walking in the Spirit ; Filled with Spirit - Ephesians 5:18 or see exposition of Ephesians 5:18)
As believers, we daily must remember who we are (in Christ) and Whose we are (Christ's bride)
for God has not called (note calling is part of the salvation process) us for the purpose of impurity (an unnatural pollution, context is speaking of sexual uncleanness or filthiness), but in (in the sphere of) sanctification (hagiasmos) (1Th 4:7-note).
Writing to the church at Corinth which was surrounded by pagan society literally saturated with idolatry and immorality, Paul wrote
Therefore, having these promises (Read [meditate on] them in 2Cor 6:16,17,18 and also the three commands to Come out from their midst and be separate....and do not touch what is unclean), beloved, let us cleanse ourselves (katharizo) (our part in daily sanctification) from all (even the "closets" of your heart - don't leave any "secret" places that make provision for your flesh - Ro 13:14-note) defilement of flesh and spirit, (continually, habitually [present tense]) perfecting holiness (hagiosune) in the fear (phobos) of God (which is practically reflected in a self-distrust, a serious caution, a tenderness of conscience, a watchfulness against temptation and shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of our Father 1Pe 1:17-note and Christ our bridegroom - cp Re 19:7-note, Re 19:8-note). (2Cor 7:1-note)
Comment: Why do so few individuals in modern American evangelicalism pursue holiness? Paul would say it is because they have no fear of God, either as a Father or Judge {1Pe 1:17-note, He 12:28-note}
Hagiasmos is used to the process of sanctification in Romans 6:19 Paul writing to the Romans saints...
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh (because of their intellectual difficulty in grasping divine truth which often needs to be illustrated to be fully intelligible). For just as you presented (paristemi = yielded, surrendered) your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present (paristemi in the aorist imperative = once for all, yield - this necessitates a deliberate decision on the believer's part) your members (your faculties, the parts of your physical body, the headquarters from which and through which sin operates, members might also include mental faculties) as slaves to righteousness (right being and doing right), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos). (Ro 6:19-note)
In Romans 6:22 Paul goes on to explain
but now having been freed from sin (because of our union with Christ [= "in Christ"] Who broke the tyranny, dominion and controlling power of sin, Ro 6:2-note, Ro 6:11-note - not referring to the believer’s daily struggle with sin but to a one-time, past completed event - now we are “in Christ” and He died in our place and we are counted dead with Him) and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit (reward, fruit - if you present yourselves as slaves to God voluntarily, you can anticipate the sweet fruit of progressive sanctification - holiness - and fullness of eternal life cf. Jn 10:10; 17:3), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos - here referring to progressive, daily setting apart from the world and unto God = a process which is not automatic but requires a daily, moment by moment, decision of our will to live for God, not the world, this process being enabled by the Holy Spirit), and the outcome, eternal life. (Ro 6:22-note)
In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul reminds us that our salvation is all of God for it is by His
doing (Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow - the Initiator, Sustainer and Completer of our salvation!) you are in Christ Jesus (see in Christ and in Christ Jesus), Who became to us wisdom from God (Ro 11:36-note), and righteousness (2Pe 1:1-note, Therefore, let us proclaim with the Psalmist - Ps 71:15-note, Ps 71:16-note) and sanctification (hagiasmos - set apart to belong to God and to serve Him - this reference is to positional sanctification = "in Christ" our eternally secure position!) and redemption." (1Cor 1:30)
Christ is our Sanctification. In ourselves we have no personal holiness, but in Christ we are positionally sanctified and by the Spirit of Christ's power we will be transformed (being progressively sanctified) from one degree of sanctification or holiness to another as discussed above.
Another example of Paul's use of sanctified in reference to the initial salvation experience is in his description of the "before" and "after" picture of some of the Corinthian saints --
Such were some of you (see 1Cor 6:9; 6:10); but you were washed, but you were sanctified (hagiazo, aorist tense = at a definite point in time in the past = moment of salvation), but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1Cor 6:11)
Hagiasmos is used in Hebrews to describe progressive sanctification, the author charging saints to
Pursue (present imperative - command to continually seek after) peace with all men, and the sanctification (holiness and consecration) without which no one will see the Lord." (He 12:14-note)
Comment: Don't misunderstand this command to pursue holiness -- the writer is not saying that we can work our way to heaven. To the contrary those who have been sanctified by the Spirit {genuinely saved} will be enabled and empowered by the same Spirit to daily pursue holiness with the result that the lost will see the Lord in their holy lives. Mt 5:16-note) (See also J C Ryle's sermon on Hebrews 12:14.)
Ray Stedman explains that
if we truly practice a continual reckoning of ourselves as already righteous within by a gracious act of God on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus (Ed: That was Paul's command in Ro 6:11-note), we will find ourselves strongly motivated to live righteously and inwardly distressed (Ed: cp Ep 4:30-note, 1Th 5:19-note) at any failure to do so. This inward distress will bring us again and again to the throne of grace (He 4:16-note) for forgiveness and recovery. (See Stedman's commentary - scroll down to section on "The Dangers to Watch For - Hebrews 12:14-17 )
Easton's Bible Dictionary writes that...
Sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Ro 6:13 [note]; Col 3:10 [note]; 1Jn 4:7; 1Cor 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1Cor 6:11; 2Th 2:13).
Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Gal 2:20-note) and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience "to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.
Wuest summarizes sanctification, positional and progressive, beginning with the
"initial act of faith (that) brought ... justification, the removal of the guilt and penalty of sin and the impartation of a positive righteousness, Jesus Christ Himself, an act which occurs at the moment of believing, and a position that remains static for time and eternity; sanctification, positional, the act of the Holy Spirit taking the believing sinner out of the first Adam with his (Adam’s) sin and death, and placing him in the Last Adam (Jesus Christ, cp 1Co 15:22) with His righteousness (2Co 5:21) and life (Jn 14:19, 20:31, 1Jn 5:11, 12, Col 3:4-note), an act that occurs at the moment of believing. Sanctification progressive, the process by which the Holy Spirit eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His fruit, gradually conforming him into the image of the Lord Jesus, a process that goes on all through the life of a Christian...In progressive sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit producing in the lives of believers, a set apart life consistent with their new position. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Hodge writes that...
"The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves."
Luther said:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him." It is the Holy Spirit who awakens within us the first faint longings for God and goodness. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and leads us to the Cross where that sin is forgiven. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to be freed from the sins which have us in their grip and to gain the virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is Lord. The beginning, the middle and the end of the Christian life are the work of the Holy Spirit.
Hagiasmos was used in the Greek pagan religions to describe buildings, altars or offerings set apart for religious purposes. The object set apart was thus declared sacred, holy, devoted to religious purposes. It applied also to the worshippers. They were set apart persons, thus religious devotees of the temple.
The dominant idea of sanctification (dictionary discussion) is separation from the secular and sinful and set apart for the sacred, (specifically in the NT) for God’s special use (cp 2Ti 2:21, 22-note), all made possible by the atoning work of Christ and the provision of His Spirit.
In position all believers are in Christ, and practically speaking sanctification describes the Spirit enabled process by which the one in Whom we live and Who lives in us (i.e., Christ, the Spirit of Christ - cp Jn 14:20, Col 1:27-note, Ro 8:9-note) progressively becomes more and more manifest in our daily conduct (cp 2Co 4:10, 11, 2:14, 15,16, Ro 8:29-note)
Bradford Mullen writes that...
The generic meaning of sanctification is "the state of proper functioning." To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is "sanctified" when used to write. Eyeglasses are "sanctified" when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God's design and purpose...
Human beings ultimately cannot sanctify themselves. The Triune God sanctifies. The Father sanctifies (1Co 1:30) by the Spirit (2Th 2:13; 1Pe 1:2) and in the name of Christ (1Co 6:11). Yet Christian faith is not merely passive. Paul calls for active trust and obedience when he says, "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2Co 7:1-note). No one may presume on God's grace in sanctification. Peter reminds believers to be diligent in making their calling and election sure (2Pe 1:10-note). (See Mullen's well done lengthy "treatise" on Sanctification in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Recommended!) (Bolding Added)
BDAG says hagiasmos is used...
in a moral sense for a process or, more often, its result (the state of being made holy)
Wuest puts it this way
The word “sanctify” in the Greek means “to set apart,” and the word “sanctification” refers to the setting apart process. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
As explained more below, hagiasmos can refer either to a state of being set apart from sin and the world unto God (equating with our initial salvation) or secondly can refer to the process by which a saint becomes progressively more set apart to God. Thus sanctification in one use takes place at a moment in time (salvation and synonymous with justification - See relationship of Justified, Sanctified, Glorified) but in the other use sanctification is a continuous process which is lifelong and terminates only when believers are glorified. Peter uses hagiasmos primarily with the former meaning. The Holy Spirit is the agent in effecting both aspects of sanctification.
Hagiasmos is used twice in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ezekiel 45:4, Amos 2:11) and 10 times in the NT...
Romans 6:19 (note) I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
Romans 6:22 (note) But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1Thessalonians 4:3 (note) For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1Thessalonians 4:4 (note) that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor
1Thessalonians 4:7 (note) For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
2Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
1Timothy 2:15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
Hebrews 12:14 (note) Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
1Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Wuest adds that
This pre-salvation work of the Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as the sanctification of the Spirit. It is the setting-apart work of the Spirit in that He sets the unsaved person apart from his unbelief to the act of faith, from his standing in the first Adam which brought him sin and death, to a new standing in the Last Adam which brings him righteousness and life. This we call positional sanctification." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
The College Press NIV Commentary states that...
The concept of sanctification can be understood by comparing the sanctification of people to the sanctification of the temple or its utensils. A sanctified building, lampstand, or pot is designated to be used only in service to God. A sanctified person has also been set apart for service. The Holy Spirit both marks us for God’s service and empowers us to render that service. (1 & 2 Peter: The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing).
As discussed, Peter uses hagiasmos to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration or the new birth, by which a sinner is taken out of Adam and placed into Christ (cp 1Co 15:22), thus equating sanctification in this context with salvation (or justification).
Writing to the Thessalonian believers (whose faith had been shaken by false teachers cf 2Th 2:1, 2, 3, 4) Paul reminds them of the source and security of their salvation, explaining that they are
brethren beloved (perfect tense = their permanent state) by the Lord, because God has chosen you (election -- middle voice = for Himself) from the beginning for salvation through sanctification (hagiasmos) by the Spirit (God's part) and faith (man's part, realizing that even faith is a gift) in the truth (believers need to stay "in the truth" for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ). (2Th 2:13)
The Spirit (Jn 3:5, 6, 7, 8) uses the Word of Truth (the Gospel - see Ep 1:13-note, Col 1:5-note) to convict men of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come (Jn 16:8), to point them to safety in the "Ark" of Christ and to set them apart from the world.
Using the verbal root of hagiasmos (hagiazo [word study]), Paul declared to the Ephesian elders
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance ("imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven" - 1Pe 1:4-note) among all those who are sanctified (hagiazo - perfect tense pictures their having been set apart occurring at a definite point of time in the past -- the moment they were born again by faith -- with the present result that they are still set apart, that blessed condition continuing throughout this life and the one to come!). (Acts 20:32)
John Macarthur comments on 1 Peter1:2 explaining that
Election becomes a reality for the elect in the sphere of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit...While the elect are elect from eternity, they are saved in time..."Sanctifying" refers to the new birth--salvation, regeneration, faith, repentance-- that the Spirit produces in the life of a believer. It includes the concepts of being hallowed, consecrated, and separated from the world. As Christians we are all elect from eternity. But we were once part of the mass of unredeemed humanity. We existed in that unredeemed condition until the Holy Spirit set us apart ("sanctified us") for salvation...the Spirit sets a believer apart ("sanctifies") from sin to God, from darkness to light, and from unbelief to faith...The Father planned our salvation and Christ purchased it for us, but it is the Spirit Who applies it. (parentheses and bolding added)
The reader needs to be aware that sanctification can be a confusing term because some uses of "sanctification" (sanctify, sanctified) in Scripture refer primarily to our initial salvation ("positional sanctification") whereas other uses refer to an ongoing process in the believer's life.
John Macarthur notes that
Sanctification includes all aspects of the life of a believer. It is a synonym for salvation, the critical work of the Holy Spirit at conversion whereby we are set apart--born of the Spirit. Once that has taken place, the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to make us more holy. That is the process of sanctification, and it continues throughout our lives.
SANCTIFICATION:
USED TWO WAYS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
(1) Our initial salvation experience:
A POINT IN TIME EVENT
OUR POSSESSION
OUR ETERNAL POSITION IN CHRIST
(2) Our daily growth in Christ-likeness:
A PROCESS
OUR DAILY PRACTICE
PROGRESSIVE
When we are initially saved, the Bible sometimes refers to this as sanctified and so we Paul writes that...
we were sanctified (hagiazo - aorist tense = past action completed the moment we believed!) (1Co 6:11-see note. cp Acts 20:32 where here the speaks of our being set apart at a specific point in time in the past [the moment we believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ Mk 1:1, Ro 1:9-note, Ro 15:19-note, 1Co 9:12, 2Co 2:12, 9:13, 10:14, Gal 1:7, Php 1:27-note, 1Th 3:2-note, 2Th 1:8] and with the results continuing into the present = we remain positionally set apart.)
At the moment we confessed "with (our) mouth Jesus as Lord, and (believed) in (our) heart that God raised Him from the dead" (Ro 10:9-note) we were saved, sanctified or set apart from Sin, Satan and this present evil age (world) (Gal 1:4) and unto God for His good pleasure (2Cor 5:9, Ep 5:8-note, Ep 5:9, 10-note, 1Th 2:4-note, He 13:20, 21-note) and use (2Co 4:7, 2Ti 2:20, 21-note).
The epistle to the Hebrews records that
By this will we have been sanctified (hagiazo) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (He 10:10-note)
In Hebrews 10:10, sanctified is in the perfect tense which indicates a past completed action (the moment of salvation, a one time event when we taken out of Adam and were placed in Christ 1Co 15:22, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light - Col 1:13, 14-note) with present ongoing effects or results (i.e., holiness as a saint's permanent possession -- once made holy in Christ you will always be "holy" whether you feel holy or not.)
The writer of Hebrews then goes on to explain that...
by one offering (of His Own Body on the Cross) He (Christ, our Great High Priest) has perfected (perfect tense = speaks of the permanence or eternality of this perfection) for all time those who are sanctified (present tense, passive voice {"divine passive" = God enables this progressive setting apart in believers} = more literally = "are continuously being sanctified" = speaks of the process of sanctification as discussed below). (He 10:14-note)
W E Vine says that...
Sanctification is the state predetermined by God for believers, into which in grace He calls them, and in which they begin their Christian course and so pursue it. Hence they are called “saints” (hagioi)
Having been saved, sanctified or set apart in the past, now daily we are being saved, sanctified or set apart from the world and unto God. (See topic Three Tenses of Salvation - see also the lengthy discussion by Lehman Strauss re Regeneration, Justification and Sanctification) The first sanctification is a one time event, never to be repeated. The second sanctification is a daily event and represents an ongoing process by which the Spirit is continually conforming us into the image of God's Son by producing internal transformation.
Paul says it this way...
we all, with unveiled face (perfect tense = The veil was taken off the day the Spirit gave birthed us into the Kingdom of God and we received new life in Christ and the effects continue. The perfect tense speaks of permanence of the "unveiling" which occurred when we first received Christ - Jn 1:12, 13. The Spirit opened the eyes of our heart - Acts 26:18, 16:14, 2Co 3:5, 6, 16. In Jesus the veil is "rent" - Heb 10:19, 20-note Mt 27:50,51 Mk15:38 Lk 23:45! Believers now under the New Covenant do not lose the glory as did Moses under the Old Covenant - 2Co 3:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) beholding (present tense = continually contemplating without interruption. As one's lifestyle.) as in a mirror (the Word of Truth - same phrase in Ps 119:43-note, 2Co 6:7, Col 1:5-note, 2Ti 2:15-note, Jas 1:18-note) the glory of the Lord, are being transformed (present tense = this is a process, not an arrival in this present life! The = passive voice = so called "divine passive" = God is the Energizer of our transformation. However note it is not "Let go and Let God" for believers have a responsibility of "beholding") into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2Cor 3:18).
Jesus prayed for the sanctification of saints, asking His Father to
Sanctify (aorist imperative) them in the Truth. Thy Word is Truth. (Jn 17:17, 19)
Dearly beloved, if you are not in the Word daily (cf Mt 4:4), and the Word is not in you and/or you are not obeying the Word (not legalistically but enabled by the Spirit - Ezek 36:27, cp obedience of faith), you will not experience significant progressive sanctification (This brings to mind Rich Mullins great song Step by Step). Peter charges believers (after exhorting them to lay aside "appetite suppressing", growth stunting sins in 1Pe 2:1-note) to be
like newborn babes (and) long for (aorist imperative = a command demanding urgent attention. Do this now! Don't delay! Do it effectively! Develop an appetite for, have an insatiable craving for) the pure milk of the word (unadulterated, no additives, not devotionals or books about the Word but the "pure Word"), that by it (they) may grow in respect to salvation (i.e., the process of sanctification or present tense salvation.") (1Pe 2:2-note; cp Jer 15:16, Job 23:12-note)
THE BELIEVER'S
"POWER SOURCE"
ENABLING
PROGRESSIVE
SANCTIFICATION
The process of sanctification is dependent not only on the intake of the Word, but on our response to the Word. Is the Word "in one ear and out the other" (Jas 1:22-note) or does it truly impact your walk, beloved (or do we walk away from it and forget it? - Jas 1:23, 24-note)?
Paul explains that our daily growth in Christ-likeness is a "cooperative effort" writing that
if you are living (present tense = that is if the direction of your life is continually) according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit (this is God's part - His power in us to will and to work for His good pleasure) you are putting (this part is our responsibility, it is present tense - habitually, daily - the process of sanctification; cp same "pattern" of God's part, our part in Ezek 36:27) to death the deeds of the body (prompted by sin still resident in the physical body), you will live. (Ro 8:13-note).
He reiterates this vitally important spiritual dynamic in Philippians exhorting the saints to...
work out (present imperative = As the general direction of your life) your salvation (equates with progressive, stepwise sanctification = increasing in holiness = growth in Christ-likeness) with fear (1Pe 1:17-note, 2Co 7:1-note) and trembling for it is God who is at work (energeo in the present tense = continually) in you, both to will (His indwelling Spirit gives us the "want to" [cp He 13:20, 21-note] - our fallen flesh does not "want to" obey God's word! Never!) and to work (energeo in the present tense = continually) for His good pleasure. (Php 2:12, 13-See notes Php 2:12; 2:13)
In other words, the indwelling Holy Spirit is the believer's Source of supernatural power (just try obeying continually in your own natural strength!) continually enabling us to not "walk according to the flesh" (Ro 8:4-note) but to "walk (present imperative) by the Spirit (for then) you will (be empowered to) not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Gal 5:16-note; NB: The Spirit first! In other words, don't "invert" Gal 5:16 and try to keep a set of rules concocted to blunt the desires of your old flesh nature! It won't work. It's called legalism [beware - legalism can assume very subtle forms!] and the old flesh loves it! [see Ro 7:5-note]. Surrender your will to the Spirit's will [cp our Lord's perfect example - Lk 22:42, 1Pe 2:21-note]. Each morning awaken with an "Ephesians 5:16 [note] mindset" and begin your day with the spiritual "breakfast of champions" and a holy presentation [Ro 12:1-note, Ro 12:2-note]. Then throughout the day, moment by moment, trial by trial, yield to Him. As the "tests" come at you, learn to depend on His power, not your own power to "weather the storm", whatever the "storm" is in your life! There is no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to Trust and Obey in the Spirit!)
Note that the process of sanctification although enabled by the Spirit is the believer's responsibility and that holiness is not produced by personal passivity or just letting go and letting God as some have erroneously taught. We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to make us holy...His sanctifying work alone saved us the first time and His sanctifying work alone saves us every day and both are activated by faith, a faith that obeys His still small voice without hesitation. That's "walking in the Spirit". Walking is just learning to place one foot in front of the other and then repeating that process. That's what it means to be continually "filled with the Spirit". That's what it means to continually be under the control of the Holy Spirit. (see related resources Walking in the Spirit ; Filled with Spirit - Ephesians 5:18 or see exposition of Ephesians 5:18)
As believers, we daily must remember who we are (in Christ) and Whose we are (Christ's bride)
for God has not called (note calling is part of the salvation process) us for the purpose of impurity (an unnatural pollution, context is speaking of sexual uncleanness or filthiness), but in (in the sphere of) sanctification (hagiasmos) (1Th 4:7-note).
Writing to the church at Corinth which was surrounded by pagan society literally saturated with idolatry and immorality, Paul wrote
Therefore, having these promises (Read [meditate on] them in 2Cor 6:16,17,18 and also the three commands to Come out from their midst and be separate....and do not touch what is unclean), beloved, let us cleanse ourselves (katharizo) (our part in daily sanctification) from all (even the "closets" of your heart - don't leave any "secret" places that make provision for your flesh - Ro 13:14-note) defilement of flesh and spirit, (continually, habitually [present tense]) perfecting holiness (hagiosune) in the fear (phobos) of God (which is practically reflected in a self-distrust, a serious caution, a tenderness of conscience, a watchfulness against temptation and shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of our Father 1Pe 1:17-note and Christ our bridegroom - cp Re 19:7-note, Re 19:8-note). (2Cor 7:1-note)
Comment: Why do so few individuals in modern American evangelicalism pursue holiness? Paul would say it is because they have no fear of God, either as a Father or Judge {1Pe 1:17-note, He 12:28-note}
Hagiasmos is used to the process of sanctification in Romans 6:19 Paul writing to the Romans saints...
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh (because of their intellectual difficulty in grasping divine truth which often needs to be illustrated to be fully intelligible). For just as you presented (paristemi = yielded, surrendered) your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present (paristemi in the aorist imperative = once for all, yield - this necessitates a deliberate decision on the believer's part) your members (your faculties, the parts of your physical body, the headquarters from which and through which sin operates, members might also include mental faculties) as slaves to righteousness (right being and doing right), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos). (Ro 6:19-note)
In Romans 6:22 Paul goes on to explain
but now having been freed from sin (because of our union with Christ [= "in Christ"] Who broke the tyranny, dominion and controlling power of sin, Ro 6:2-note, Ro 6:11-note - not referring to the believer’s daily struggle with sin but to a one-time, past completed event - now we are “in Christ” and He died in our place and we are counted dead with Him) and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit (reward, fruit - if you present yourselves as slaves to God voluntarily, you can anticipate the sweet fruit of progressive sanctification - holiness - and fullness of eternal life cf. Jn 10:10; 17:3), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos - here referring to progressive, daily setting apart from the world and unto God = a process which is not automatic but requires a daily, moment by moment, decision of our will to live for God, not the world, this process being enabled by the Holy Spirit), and the outcome, eternal life. (Ro 6:22-note)
In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul reminds us that our salvation is all of God for it is by His
doing (Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow - the Initiator, Sustainer and Completer of our salvation!) you are in Christ Jesus (see in Christ and in Christ Jesus), Who became to us wisdom from God (Ro 11:36-note), and righteousness (2Pe 1:1-note, Therefore, let us proclaim with the Psalmist - Ps 71:15-note, Ps 71:16-note) and sanctification (hagiasmos - set apart to belong to God and to serve Him - this reference is to positional sanctification = "in Christ" our eternally secure position!) and redemption." (1Cor 1:30)
Christ is our Sanctification. In ourselves we have no personal holiness, but in Christ we are positionally sanctified and by the Spirit of Christ's power we will be transformed (being progressively sanctified) from one degree of sanctification or holiness to another as discussed above.
Another example of Paul's use of sanctified in reference to the initial salvation experience is in his description of the "before" and "after" picture of some of the Corinthian saints --
Such were some of you (see 1Cor 6:9; 6:10); but you were washed, but you were sanctified (hagiazo, aorist tense = at a definite point in time in the past = moment of salvation), but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1Cor 6:11)
Hagiasmos is used in Hebrews to describe progressive sanctification, the author charging saints to
Pursue (present imperative - command to continually seek after) peace with all men, and the sanctification (holiness and consecration) without which no one will see the Lord." (He 12:14-note)
Comment: Don't misunderstand this command to pursue holiness -- the writer is not saying that we can work our way to heaven. To the contrary those who have been sanctified by the Spirit {genuinely saved} will be enabled and empowered by the same Spirit to daily pursue holiness with the result that the lost will see the Lord in their holy lives. Mt 5:16-note) (See also J C Ryle's sermon on Hebrews 12:14.)
Ray Stedman explains that
if we truly practice a continual reckoning of ourselves as already righteous within by a gracious act of God on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus (Ed: That was Paul's command in Ro 6:11-note), we will find ourselves strongly motivated to live righteously and inwardly distressed (Ed: cp Ep 4:30-note, 1Th 5:19-note) at any failure to do so. This inward distress will bring us again and again to the throne of grace (He 4:16-note) for forgiveness and recovery. (See Stedman's commentary - scroll down to section on "The Dangers to Watch For - Hebrews 12:14-17 )
Easton's Bible Dictionary writes that...
Sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Ro 6:13 [note]; Col 3:10 [note]; 1Jn 4:7; 1Cor 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1Cor 6:11; 2Th 2:13).
Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Gal 2:20-note) and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience "to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.
Wuest summarizes sanctification, positional and progressive, beginning with the
"initial act of faith (that) brought ... justification, the removal of the guilt and penalty of sin and the impartation of a positive righteousness, Jesus Christ Himself, an act which occurs at the moment of believing, and a position that remains static for time and eternity; sanctification, positional, the act of the Holy Spirit taking the believing sinner out of the first Adam with his (Adam’s) sin and death, and placing him in the Last Adam (Jesus Christ, cp 1Co 15:22) with His righteousness (2Co 5:21) and life (Jn 14:19, 20:31, 1Jn 5:11, 12, Col 3:4-note), an act that occurs at the moment of believing. Sanctification progressive, the process by which the Holy Spirit eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His fruit, gradually conforming him into the image of the Lord Jesus, a process that goes on all through the life of a Christian...In progressive sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit producing in the lives of believers, a set apart life consistent with their new position. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Hodge writes that...
"The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves."
Luther said:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him." It is the Holy Spirit who awakens within us the first faint longings for God and goodness. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and leads us to the Cross where that sin is forgiven. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to be freed from the sins which have us in their grip and to gain the virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is Lord. The beginning, the middle and the end of the Christian life are the work of the Holy Spirit.